Topic: Editorials

Tomorrow will mark 20 years since Mary J. Blige released her sophomore album, My Life. While Blige’s 92′ debut, What’s The 411?, established her as R&B’s new It Girl with classic hits like “Real Love” and “Reminisce,” it was with My Life that the singer transcended the new Jill swing label and emerged as one of the premiere soul singers of her generation. That’s because My Life is one of the most influential R&B albums ever recorded. Continue...

As always, spoilers are afoot. So walk softly or take the scenic route. Kinsey’s a Krishna, Harry shows he still has a soul, Joan and Don reminisce, Roger wants to do more than reminisce, and Lane is engaged in backdoor misdeeds. Everyone’s jockeying for position, re-evaluating their direction and choices in life and suffering varying degrees of emotional trauma in the process. In short, it’s Christmas time on Mad Men. Continue...

Think back. Way back. Back to the 90′s. Okay, that’s not that far back, you get the picture. The musical landscape, though populated by everything from grunge to hardcore rap to teen pop was also dominated by R&B heavyweights like R. Kelly, Maxwell, Usher, Mary J. Blige, TLC, Mariah, Whitney and Erykah Badu. In fact, over the course of a decade, R&B had become the new pop, driving mainstream trends in fashion, slang and of course, music. The various styles, from Teddy Riley’s new jack swing to hip-hop soul to Timbaland’s futuristic production, were so popular that even Eighties pop titans Michael Jackson and Madonna had to take heed, the former returning to his R&B roots on 1991′s Dangerous and the latter dipping her toe into the rhythm and blues pool for 1992′s Erotica before taking a deep-end dive for 1994′s Bedtime Stories. However, a cursory glance at the mainstream music scene shows the genre’s dominance has waned in the Aughts. Continue...

Bey season is officially upon us. After weeks of teaser clips, the video for the superstar’s new single “Run The World (Girls)” premiered Wednesday night during American Idol. The Beyonce in Francis Lawrence-directed clip is miles away from the preening, glamazon previously captured in videos for past hits like “Crazy In Love,” “Diva” and “Single Ladies.” Continue...

Ten years ago Marilyn Manson was one of the world’s most infamous and controversial rock stars. Manson and his cronies were the scourge of conservative America–every tour date was plagued by Christian protestors hellbent on keeping the kiddies away from the devil’s latest storm trooper, while intense cultural debates about his subversive image stretched to the halls of Congress. The band is currently at work on a a new album, and their leader is still a presence in the art and indie film worlds. However, while his loyal core audience has remained, it’s clear that in 2011 Manson has seen better days. All is not lost though. Continue...